Too bad it's so stock, the 454 really needs to be restomodded for proper performance. You could pull the original pistons and cam and bring it up to 10:1 compression or so and a decent cam in there and still look bone stock. Also gotta put the boat anchor iron intake in storage and put a performer RPM on there. You can get a polished one and paint it chevy orange

Only about 362 454 4 speeds produced in 74 of the total Chevelle run of 362,xxx. The Standard Catalog of Chevelle Book states .01% came so equipped.

Mine is the opposite and loaded like a Cadillac, it's an April production with the Louvers and 1/2 vinyl. I have a/c, tilt, pw, pl, lighting package, vanity mirror with light, litter container, dual remote mirrors, power trunk release and positraction.

The LS4 is the same as the LS5 of 1972 but with a slightly smaller cam. It's great for street cruising and with $3+ a gallon for gas I would leave it alone or just freshen it up a bit.

Quote:Only about 362 454 4 speeds produced in 74 of the total Chevelle run of 362,xxx. The Standard Catalog of Chevelle Book states .01% came so equipped.

Mine is the opposite and loaded like a Cadillac, it's an April production with the Louvers and 1/2 vinyl. I have a/c, tilt, pw, pl, lighting package, vanity mirror with light, litter container, dual remote mirrors, power trunk release and positraction.

The LS4 is the same as the LS5 of 1972 but with a slightly smaller cam. It's great for street cruising and with $3+ a gallon for gas I would leave it alone or just freshen it up a bit.

John

The LS-4 did get the new big chamber 118 cc 781 or 049 oval port heads and flat top pistons to barely get 7.5:1 compresson. The LS-5 did have more compression from the factory, it's hard to track down if this was from the heads or pistons

Quote:Too bad it's so stock, the 454 really needs to be restomodded for proper performance. You could pull the original pistons and cam and bring it up to 10:1 compression or so and a decent cam in there and still look bone stock. Also gotta put the boat anchor iron intake in storage and put a performer RPM on there. You can get a polished one and paint it chevy orange

To me that's one of the biggest pluses - motor truly does look totally stock - not even headers. In my mind, that minimizes the chances that this car has been beat on too bad. All in all, the whole car doesn't look too bad for 102,000+ miles. Needs a total resto, but I don't see any signs of abuse.

Gotta agree the biggest fear factor is the roof. I sure hope the car hasn't seen much water since that vinyl developed a million splits. As it is now, it's basically a gigantic sponge on top of the car.

I'm surprised the reserve was so high. It doesn't seem this guy has more than that into it. Does that mean he's just another guy who thinks he has the worlds rarest car? I'm guessing the reserve was $8000.00. We'll see if it shows up again. Dan

I don't think the price is out of line. It is a super rare 454 4 speed that is in basically original condition needing some cosmetic restoration. Assuming the body is rust free, being from Arizona then you will only need to deal with the roof.

I'm with you on the B-Jackson...if what we know gets out about these cars being great low-dollar muscle, the money crowd will drive the price way up. Try looking on ebay for a 69 Camaro? Dont bother unless you got $9000 just for a decent builder. Some people think just cause they saw it cross the block for a said amount, they have the same worth in a base trim vehicle or a "project" thats close to shot.However, Im not slammin the ebay guna here..gotta look at the facts. Options/Engine/Condition seem pretty in line for the right person with the right funds,as long as there no hidden problems. It would be nice to see it at Superchevy!My 2cents.......

Quote:Its too bad some people don't clean and vacuum theircars before they take pictures to sell them.

You know it! I used to work at a used car dealer and we used to buy our cars from a local junk yard. The guy would set the running cars aside and once a week we would pick the ones that were good enough to clean up and sell. Point is here, most cars just needed to be cleaned, shampood. Wash all the windows and we even had a guy that would come out and put fresh white walls on any old tire. Cars we paid $150.00 for sold for $500-$900 and all they need was to be cleaned. Dan

What made this car rare is the 454 engine with a 4spd tranny. Of the 15,000 and some 74 Laguna S3's built I bet less then 400 had the 454 4spd combo, maybe 1500 454 cars total. If you have a 73 Laguna ( non TypeS3 ) with a 454 hang on to it, probably even harder to find.

The 4 speed was available with the small or big block in 73 where in 74 it was only available with the 454.

Of total Chevelle production there were .08% 4 speeds in 73 vs .01% in 74. There were 362,000 Chevelles in 74 so .01% would be 362 454 4 speed cars in the entire line, including plain jane Chevelles and perhaps a few wagons.

There were most likely more 454's in 73 vs 74 though I have never seen an exact breakdown of the various available engines.

I was wondering, back in 99 I printed off a bunch of stuff from Doc& Spiral's. At that time the production number listed for the 74 Laguna S3 was 21,902 , if you check the site today it says 15,792 . I like to always tell people the most correct information or most up-dated. I guess I will go with the latest figure.

Laguna454S3, when you see that number of 362 I bet there are less then 100 still kicking. I guess that one on E-bay was a deal even at 8000. The Old cars Price Guide puts a top shape 74 S3 454 4spd right at 20 grand.

i think i can say im one of the very few up here to get a deal on a nice original car....heh 5 years ago prices were low..now they are slowly picking up...i found a 74 454 4psd on trader online green with black top and manual trans i remember there was NO CONSOLE.

some of you guy have some hard to come across stuff.since i cant get another g-3 at this time..ive been picking up nos parts...for the just in case i need it..i have the rear tail assembly sheet metal, some front end stuff etc..i think the nos parts are worth having just to have...i know i got some $$ in nos parts..that i wont lose money on, but i keep most of my stuff for personal use. i dont really intend to sell them.

pippy, where is that car now ? What a great color combo as most were white and probably red as the next most popular.

butcher, maybe there were 15,000 built in the U.S. and the rest in Canada. I had a friend who had a Canada built 74 with 400 and no A/C.

Fact is, very few 454 cars survived. When the bodies started to rust, the engines were pulled for boats, street rods and other Chevrolet cars.

You'll find many more 73-76 Oldsmobile Cutlasses with the 455 still around then you will Chevelles from 73-75 with 75 being a 1/2 year availablility.

Also the 454's were more readily modified than other GM big engines, due to the amount of aftermarket parts available. This was the case with both my 454 Laguna's. My 75 Hurst Olds 455 is untouched as are many that survived.

This car on e-bay was indeed a super rare find in it's original condition.